Just a Normal Boy
by Snows Of Yester-Year
Summary: A oneshot between Aang and his sister that takes place before the war. Nyoya is my character. First story, so please be nice. Oh, yeah, disclaimer: I don't own Avatar.


What's up, everyone? Alright, this is my first fanfic, so...be nice. Sorry if it's terrible. One shot.

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"Aang, look at this new trick I learned!"

The tiny, energetic seven year-old airbender lifted his gaze to the young woman seated before him, and a smile cracked his dirty little face as he watched in fascination as the woman suspended a few marbles in the air and, using airbending, caused them to spin there at a dizzying rate. He jumped up and said, "That's so cool, Nyoya! Where did you learn that?"

She took a good look at his face and sighed heavily. "Little brother!" she scolded gently, plucking at the hem of her long, flowing Airbender dress and scrubbing it against his face in futile attempt to wash the dirt away. "What on earth did you get in to?"

He shuffled his feet uncomfortably. "Nothin'…I was just playing Airball with my friends, and I fell down, that's all."

She shook her head. "Little troublemaker…what am I going to do with you? You must give those poor monks up at that Monastery a fit."

The young boy's shoulders slumped at the mention of the monks. Nyoya looked at him in utter surprise. "What? What did I say?"

He flopped down on the floor, now clearly depressed. "Why do I gotta go live with those monks at the monastery? Why can't I live here, with you?"

Nyoya took a deep breath; she knew that question would come up sooner or later, and she was never sure what she would say when it did. She wrangled up an answer for the impatient young man as quickly as she could. "Well, you're an airbender, aren't you? You have to learn the craft, and the monks are the best ones to teach you."

He opened his eyes. "But you're an Airbender, too, ain't ya? So how come you don't gotta live with them too?"

She smiled. "Because I have already completed my training. Remember, I have twelve more summers then you do, little brother."

He blinked. "But there's kids in this town that is Airbenders, and they don't got to be learned in that monetary. So why do I gotta?"

Nyoya raised an eyebrow at him and tried to get him off the topic. "Do they teach you to talk correctly there, little brother? One could not tell."

He blushed, but scowled; Aang was smarter then that. "Answer the question!"

Nyoya blinked. _Oh, what to tell him, what to say…_her mind swam for several moments, before inspiration struck her. "It was in the will of our parents that you should go to a monastery for proper training, brother. You do not wish to go against our parents wishes, do you?"

They looked into each others eyes for a moment. Nyoya suddenly felt uncomfortable; he may be just her brother, and he may be twelve years younger, but that did not deter the chill his gaze sent her. His eyes, the color of a strong storm that hangs threateningly over the sea, shone like unforged steel, blazing into her very core of existence. Once again, she felt as though he was seeing right through her. Like he was just reading her mind. It was an eerie feeling. But she remained still, her countenance completely blank and impartial. Finally, after several agonizing moments that seemed to last an eternity, he nodded. "I suppose not…"

But Nyoya could tell just from the tone of the boy's voice that he did not believe her, that he knew that she was lying. Now desperate to change the subject, she piped up, "So…anything special happening?"

It worked. He quickly returned to the same old Aang, a huge smile on his face and a fidgety demeanor, like it was a genuine struggle for him to sit still for more then a few moments. "My tenth birthday is next week, and the monks are having a celebration! They said that you could come, Nyoya!"

She smiled eagerly. "Really! Oh, that's…" she drifted off into silence. _Oh, no…I forgot it was his birthday! And I have to go to the North Pole to meet with Admiral Yoshi next week! I can't call that off, it's too important…oh, what will I tell Aang…? _She looked nervously at her younger brother, who continued to gaze up at her, a big, goofy grin on his face.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Aang…truly I am. But I won't be here next week. I have important business to attend to in the South, and…" she couldn't go on.

His smile had dropped off his face like snow melting in the sun, and his eyes fell to the floor as he silently tried to hide his tears…

"Oh, no, please don't cry, Aang! Come, now…" She walked over to hug him, but he just shrugged her off. She chewed her lip, thinking...well, there _was_ something she could do…but she had been saving it for his twelfth birthday…ah, well. It won't hurt to give it to him a few years ahead of schedule. She smiled encouragingly. "Hey, I have something that will cheer you up, brother! Come, follow me."

He wiped his eyes, nodded, and stood. As an afterthought, she snatched a bright orange scarf from the back of a chair and wrapped it around his eyes.

He frowned. "Hey! What's this for!"

She grinned. "Well, it is a surprise, isn't it? Don't worry; I will make sure you do not fall."

He grinned. "I'm not worried, Nyoya. I trust you."

She smiled again, and took his hand, carefully leading him to where her bedroom was. The gift was stored in the closet. She opened the door to her room, turned, and placed her hands firmly on Aangs shoulders.

"Now, I'm going to get your surprise. Don't budge from this spot, okay?" He nodded silently. Nyoya left him there for a moment before journeying to her closet. _Now, where did I put that thing? Blast! I know it's back here somewhere…_several frustrating moments and a few muted curses later, her hand closed around something. She felt the rough, grainy texture of wood beneath her hand, and grinned. _Found it, _she thought. She brought the object out of the closet and placed it in Aangs hands. A light expression of surprise crossed his face briefly when he felt the sudden, unexpected weight in his hand. Nyoya circled behind him and untied his scarf.

"Okay," she smiled, "now open."

His eyes flew open, and widened to the size of coins. In his hands was a long wooden staff, made from highly polished Magnolia wood. He knew what this was. He ran his hand along the staff until he found what he was looking for: a small, amber-colored stone set into the wood. He pressed it, and almost immediately a fan-like apparatus emerged from the staff. It was smooth and sturdy; the cloth dyed a rich red-orange color. To any outsider, the strange contraption would have appeared to be a large fan of some sort. But Aang knew exactly what it was.

"A _glider_," he whispered.

He silently ran his hands over the smooth, dark wood and the rippling, strong wings, examining every single nook and cranny of the elegant glider. He was especially fond of the golden gem glittering near the top, the spot that allowed the wings to reveal themselves from the glider. The stone looked strangely familiar, and it comforted him, although he hadn't the vaguest idea why. Nyoya stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"It was our fathers," she explained softly. Aang could hardly believe it. _My fathers…?_ He ran his hand up the shaft of the staff before pressing the gem, causing the wings to retract quickly into the staff. He gazed at it reverently, a memory dredging up in his mind. Now he remembered where he had seen this stone before… his mother had one exactly like it set into the silver necklace that she always wore about her neck. He gazed at the staff for a moment, then he threw his arms around his elder sister.

"Thank you," he whispered, before taking off to the door, laughing insanely. Nyoya smiled, shook her head, and followed him.

He burst through the front door, still laughing. Nyoya followed behind him, lingering in the doorway to watch her little brother. Several neighbor children were emerging from their houses, chattering and gazing at Aang's staff in fascination. Several rushed back into their homes to get staffs of their own. The big grin never leaving his face, Aang transformed the staff into the glider, and took off, laughing. Some children who had brought out their staffs took to the air as well, making impressive patterns in the air and just basically showing off in front of everybody. Nyoya realized that she could no longer distinguish Aang from the other children in the air, and was about to call out to him, but stopped herself. No, she decided, let him play. He held the future of standing out among his people, for he was the Avatar-even is he didn't know it yet. In the future, she concluded, there would be plenty of time to work instead of play. There would be plenty of time for her to be able to see him standing tall and proud-and perhaps separate-from the others. There was plenty of time for him to be different. But for now, she was content to let him be just a normal boy.

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That's all...hope you enjoyed it! Mwezi383 


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